Ella Al-Shamahi brings comedy science show to stage

Ella Al‑Shamahi is touring the UK with a new comedy science show, Becoming Human, exploring how humans have survived and adapted as a species.

The paleoanthropologist, who presented the BBC documentary series Human in 2025, said live performance allows her to connect directly with audiences in a way television cannot.

She said humans are a "community orientated species" and performing to a crowd is "part of that bonding process", adding having "a conversation with someone is why I like stand-up".

Al‑Shamahi's tour will visit venues across the UK, including the Gulbenkian in Canterbury, Kent, before concluding in Bristol on 29 June.

Al-Shamahi specialises in the study of Neanderthals and is known for leading high-risk expeditions to remote, politically unstable regions in search of human origins.

She has navigated hostile territories, including Iraq, Yemen, and Syria, to find Palaeolithic cave sites.

"The more I study human evolution the more it helps me make sense of the world.

"What we have overcome as a species is insane. We are here against all the odds and yet the story of how we became human doesn't really get told, despite people being obsessed with where they come from," she said.

Al-Shamahi said she initially studied evolution at university with the specific intent of disproving it, only to find the evidence undeniable.

"It means I don't stereotype people who don't believe in my opinions or the data I'm showing them and in the tour I talk about why people end up with the beliefs they have and why those beliefs can sometimes go against logic."

Al-Shamahi, who had a strict Muslim upbringing, said she first turned to stand up comedy at a sad time in her life.

"I had just become secular and abandoned my whole way of life and it was very disruptive and very sad and I remember hanging out with a few comics and just laughing so much and I remembered what I used to be like."

She said comedy became a "lifeline" and really helped her mental health.

"I started to become curious about how you make people laugh and how you construct jokes and it became really intellectually delicious for me.

"I also realised that comedy is a great way to communicate science."

Al-Shamahi said her show is for all generations and cultures and people should expect some dancing.

"You can't help but move when you hear a good beat, that is ancient biological programming and a tool of bonding.

"I want people to come away from the show feeling warm towards each other and understand that, as humans, we are all connected."

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